A camarilla is a group of

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

s or favourites who surround a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word ''camarilla'' (diminutive of ''cámara''), meaning 'little chamber' or private cabinet of the king. It was first used of the circle of cronies around Spanish King

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

(reigned 1814–1833). The term involves what is known as

cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...

. The term also entered other languages like Polish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, and is used in the sense given above. A similar concept in modern politics is that of a

Kitchen Cabinet Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often Silver (household), silverware and Dishware, dishes for table service. Home appliance, Appliances such as refrigerators, dis ...

, which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices.

Examples

Germany

In particular, two groups are called camarillas: those who surrounded the Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

and the President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

The camarilla of President Paul von Hindenburg

Oskar von Hindenburg Oskar Wilhelm Robert Paul Ludwig Hellmuth von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (31 January 1883 – 12 February 1960) was a German ''Generalleutnant''. The son and aide-de-camp to '' Generalfeldmarschall'' and Reich President Paul von Hindenbu ...

, the son of the President * Otto Meissner, secretary of state, chief of the presidential office *General

Kurt von Schleicher Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher (; 7 April 1882 – 30 June 1934) was a German military officer and the penultimate Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany during the Weim ...

, head of the military office in the Defence Ministry, later

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and army officer. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancell ...

, Chancellor

Romania

The camarilla of Queen Marie

* Barbu Ştirbey, prince and lover of the queen R. G. Waldeck, ''Athene Palace'', New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1942.

The camarilla of King Carol II

Elena Lupescu Magda Lupescu (born Elena Lupescu; 3/15 September 1899 – 29 June 1977), later officially known as Princess Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the mistress and later wife of King Carol II of Romania. Early life and family Many of the ...

, mistress and later wife of King Carol II Hans-Christian Maner, ''Parlamentarismus in Rumänien (1930-1940): Demokratie im autoritären Umfeld'', Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1997, , . * Puiu Dumitrescu, private secretary of King Carol II (earlier period) *Barbu Ionescu, businessman *Hugo Bacher *

Nae Ionescu Nae Ionescu (, born Nicolae C. Ionescu; – 15 March 1940) was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Life Born in Brăila, Ionescu studied Letters at the University of Bucharest until 1912. Upon graduati ...

, philosopher and journalist (1930–1933) Zigu Ornea
"Dezvăluirile lui Constantin Beldie"
, ''România literară'', 46/2000 * Gavrilă Marinescu, Bucharest police prefect * Ernest Urdăreanu, secretary of King Carol II (later period) *

Max Auschnitt Max Carol Auschnitt,Cerasela Moldoveanu, "În căutarea lui Schwartz... Contribuția evreilor la Războiul de Întregire Națională a României (1916–1919)", in ''Revista de Istorie Militară'', Issues 5–6/2017, p. 90 also known as Ausschnitt ...

, industrialist *

Nicolae Malaxa Nicolae Malaxa ( – 1965) was a Romanian engineer and industrialist. Biography Born in a family of Greeks, Greek origin in Huși, Malaxa studied engineering in Iași (at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, University of Iași) and Karlsruhe ...

, industrialist * Aristide Blank, industrialist *

Mihai Moruzov Mihail Moruzov (8 November 1887 – 26 November 1940) was the founder and first head of Romania's modern domestic espionage agency, the Secret Intelligence Service (SSI), forerunner of today's Serviciul Român de Informaţii, SRI. Biography Early ...

, head of the Romanian Secret Intelligence Service

Russia

In the 19th century, Russia's government was frequently described as a "camarilla", starting as early as 1860. This usage remained common into the 20th century; for instance, in 1917, commentator Robert Machray wrote of "certain forces in the background of the political life of Russia known as the 'Camarilla', which exercised and still exercise an extraordinary influence".

Spain

The right-wing domestic circle with which

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

surrounded himself with in his final years at the Royal Palace of El Pardo, his official residence, has been referred to as a "camarilla" by multiple authors.

The "El Pardo" camarilla of Francisco Franco

* Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, son-in-law of Franco * Carmen Polo, wife of Franco *Vicente Gil García, personal physician to Franco *José Ramón Gavilán, head of Franco's personal military staff *Antonio Urcelay Rodríguez, naval aide to Franco *Felipe Polo Martínez-Valdés, brother-in-law and personal lawyer of Franco

Other

* "

Camarilla A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the Court (royal), royal court but power behind the throne, influence their ruler behind the sce ...

" is also the name of a "sect" (faction) in the role-playing game '' Vampire: The Masquerade''. * The Camarilla is a multi-planetary, multi-species secret organization intent on keeping Earth isolated from the rest of the galaxy in Brian Daley's "Fitzhugh & Floyt" trilogy. * The Camarilla is a multi-planetary, multi-species secret organization with varied and often obscure motives in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance. * The Camarilla is an ancient, secret organization of witch hunters in the American TV show '' Motherland: Fort Salem''.

References

{{Refimprove, date=April 2007 Deep politics Political terminology